December 21
Powered by children seven years-old to 12 years-old who worked dawn to dusk, Samuel Slater’s thread-spinning factory goes into production in Pawtucket, R.I., which launches the Industrial Revolution in the United States. By 1830, 55% of the mill workers in the State were youngsters, many working for less than $1 per week. – 1790.
Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, and kills all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. A bomb hidden inside an audio cassette player was detonated in the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet. The disaster, which became the subject of Britain’s largest criminal investigation, was believed to be an attack against the United States because 189 of the victims were Americans. – 1988.
December 22
The Romanian army defects to the cause of anti-communist demonstrators, and the government of Nicolae Ceausescu is overthrown. The end of 42 years of communist rule in Romania came three days after Ceausescu’s security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Timisoara. After the army’s defection, Ceausescu and his wife fled, but were captured, convicted of mass murder, and executed by a firing squad. – 1989.
New York City transit strike ends after 60 hours with a 37-month settlement. Transport Workers Union Local 100 president Roger Toussaint is sentenced to 10 days in jail for the illegal walkout and the union is fined $2.5 million. – 2005.
December 23
In Tokyo, Japan, Hideki Tojo, former Japanese premier and chief of the Kwantung Army, is executed along with six other top Japanese leaders for their war crimes during World War II. Seven of the defendants were found guilty of committing crimes against humanity, especially in regard to their systematic genocide of the Chinese people. – 1948.
Walmart Stores, Inc., the Nation’s largest employer, with 1.4 million so-called associates, agrees to settle 63 wage and hour suits across the U.S., for a grand total of between $352 million and $640 million. It was accused of failure to pay overtime, requiring off-the-clock work, and failure to provide required meal and rest breaks. – 2008.
December 24
The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium to end the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada. – 1814.
Seventy-two copper miners’ children die in panic caused by company stooge in Calumet, Mich.. The stooge shouted fire up the stairs into a crowded hall where the children had gathered. They were crushed against closed doors when they tried to flee. – 1913.
December 25
During the American Revolution, patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, to surprise a Hessian force that is celebrating Christmas at their Winter quarters in Trenton, N.J.. The crossing led to the first major victory for the new Americans. – 1776.
Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I, cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. – 1914.
December 26
The first day of the first Kwanzaa is celebrated in Los Angeles under the direction of Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach. The seven-day holiday, which has strong African roots, was designed by Dr. Karenga as a celebration of African American family, community, and culture. – 1966.
A powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on this day in 2004 sets off a tsunami that wreaks death and devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline. The quake was the second strongest recorded and the estimated 230,000 dead made this disaster one of the 10 worst of all time. – 2004.
December 27
U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt seizes the railroads to avert a nationwide strike. His decision to temporarily place the railroads under the supervision of the War Department prompts the five railroad brotherhoods to agree to his offer to arbitrate the wage dispute. – 1943.
In an attempt to stabilize the turbulent political situation in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union sends 75,000 troops to enforce the installation of Babrak Karmal as the new leader of the nation. The new government and the imposing Soviet presence, however, had little success in putting down anti-government rebels. Thus began nearly 10 years of an agonizing, destructive, and ultimately fruitless Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. – 1979.